all about the art of body tattooing, tattoo types, and placement of tattoos for women and men.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Amazing Tattoo World Records

The world of tattoos has always been associated with the divisive, the weird, and the unusual. The wayward comparisons have softened over the years, with tattoos consistently inking mainstream society, however the remnants of the past are hard to erase entirely.In honor of the bizarre history of the tattoo industry, we discovered the most amazing tattoo and piercing stunts ever completed by human beings as listed (or soon to be listed) in the Guinness Book of World Records.Record: Most Tattoos in 24 HoursThis new category in the Guinness Book of World Records is set to appear in the 2009 edition. A number of tattoo artists from all over America have already attempted to make it to the book list. Some of them have already set record-breaking feats, even surpassing the 500-tattoos-in-24-hour mark.In order for a tattoo to be counted in this particular category, the tattoo artist needs to make sure the tats have a dimension of at least 1.25 x 3 inches, a minimum of two colors, and every tattoo must be recorded for Guinness Book eligibility.Some notable tattoo artists who attempted to create a world record for the category Most Tattoos in 24 Hours include:Derek Kastning, a tattoo artist from Tyler, Texas who works for Rat-aTac-Tat Tattoos set a new record of 726 tattoos in 24 hours in October 2008.

John ‘Joker’ McManus, a tattoo artist from West Monroe, broke the record set by Kastning by making 775 star tattoos in 24 hours on November 2, 2008. He also broke the 8-hour record of 240 by completing 331.

However, McManus’s celebration was short-lived as Hollis Cantrell from Phoenix, Arizona broke the former record with Cantrell’s 801 ‘AZ’ tattoos in 24 hours in November 2008. Apparently, Cantrell is the man to beat this year. Will another tattoo artist take the challenge and ink a much higher feat?

Record: Most Tattooed PersonThis word record was once held by a controversial dude named Tom Leppard who is more popularly known as the Leopard Man. Apparently getting the inspiration from his last name, Tom covered his entire body with leopard-like spots.

Leppards’ impressive tattoo covering was surpassed by an Aussie tattoo enthusiast, Lucky Diamond Rich, who literally covered his entire body with ink. Yes, he is a certified tattoo freak, covering every inch of his skin with tattoo. I don’t think anybody could beat a 100% tattooed man in this category. This is the ultimate level and anyone trying to do the same would just be a poor copycat.Lucky underwent over 1,000 hours of tattoo sessions by hundreds of tattoo artists. He once tried to collect colorful designs from around the world and tattooed them over his entire body. Not satisfied with the already extraordinary feat, Lucky decided to have a 100% covering of black ink that included his eyelids, skin between the toes, down into the ears, and even his gums. Still not contended with the whole thing, Lucky decided to cover the black ink with white designs, and colored designs on top of the white.

Record: Longest Tattoo SessionAt 43 hours and 50 minutes, Stephen Grady and Melanie Grieveson of Australia are holding the world record for the longest tattoo session. Grady and Melanie are from Twin Cities Tattooing studio, and both broke the record by 1.5 hours.Grieveson entered the book records not only as a record breaker but also the first woman to ever attempt the feat.

Record: Most Body PiercingsIf you think your proud local body-piercing buddy who’s gotten a Prince Albert, and a number of other jewelries planted on his body, is the king of body piercings, think again. Robert Jesus Rubio from United States of America is holding the world record for the most number of body piercings on a human being with 900 surgical needles inserted into his body. These 18-gauge surgical needles are 1.2 cm long - inserted on May 29, 2008.Record: Most Pierced WomanElaine Davidson may not land on the list of Most Powerful Women in History or in any list with Oprah or Hilary, but she currently holds the world record for most piercings on a woman. Elaine has a record of 720 piercings; 192 on her face and 462 on her body. She has been holding the record since May 2000.

Record: Most Body Piercings in One SessionSo you think getting one piercing is tough enough? But for Kam Ma, from UK, getting one piercing in one session is child’s play. A real man gets 1015 piercings at once. That’s exactly what Kam Ma did on March 4, 2006 at the Sunderland Body Art with Charlie Wilson. Both performed the feat in 7 hours and 55 minutes.